BRITISH BUDGET

Grey River Argus, 17 April 1929, Page 5

BRITISH BUDGET

TEA TAX DROPPED

Cut In Liquor Taxes FOUR MILLION SURPLUS ESTIMATED. AN “ELECTIONEERING SPEECH.’’ (Official Wireless.) RUGBY, April 15. The Chancellor of the Exchequer. Mr Winston Churchill, made his Budge: speech to-day in a crowded House. Ho est.mated for the current year the receipts from taxation would total £674,650,000. From non-taxed revenue he expected to receive £79,290, 000, making the total ordinary revenue £753.940,000.

Ordinary expenditure was estimated at £741,964 000, s 0 ,hat he anticipated a surplus of £ll 976,000.

No new taxes would be imposed this year. O:i the other hand, Mr Churchill stated that the tea duty would be immediately removed, the cost being £6,000,000. Allowing for concessions to be made in taxation, he estimated a Budge; surplus for the current year of £4,095,000. BEER DUTY SLUMP.

In regard to revenue, he said that last year the Customs and Excise howed a deficiency almost entirely accounted for by beer alone. Beetshowed a fall of £7,350,000. That was an exchequer embarrassment,, but not a national misfortune. The steady de cline in the consumption of alcoholic, liquor throughout the land was due to a change in national habits and the growth of alternative beverages. After making full allowance for tradconditions, he could not estimate for more than £79,000,000 in beer revenue this year. There would 25 per cent, reduction in the licenses for the retail sale of beer and spirits, in view of the curtailment of hours of sale inee the war. This would cost near ly £2,000,000 in a full year. TEA REPLACING BEER!

A symptom on which he dwelt with more confidence than on any other, as indicating the general condition o f the masses of people, was an increased consumption of tea and sugar. Before th ■ Treat War, British people consumed annually 6.55 pounds of tea and 81 pounds of sugar per head. Last year they consumed 9.15 pounds of tea and 90 pounds of sugar. That was a re cord consumption of tho e commodities.

INCOME TAXATION. He estimated *'-r this year £239,500,000 income tax. and £81.000,000 in death duties. Owing to continued Stock Exchange activity and the flota tion of new companies, stamps had yielded £2,000 000 above the estima e last year, and he estimated a further growth this year to bring the total to £31,000,000. He estimated to receive this year £’,700,000 from the excess profit duty and corpora.ion profits tax, and £58,000,000 from super tax. TRADE IMPROVEMENT.

Mr Churchill said that the balance of trade had sensibly improved the power of the community to export and invest capital abroad, thus fostering the export trade, which had risen from £86.000 000 in 1924 to £149,000,000 in 1928. New capi ui issues for home in vestments in 1928 showed a growth of about £lOO,OOO over 1924. What'evei might be the future of particular industries or particular localities, . we

we undoubtedly dwelling to-day in a more powerful, more wealthy, and more securely founded community than five years ago. We were steadily improv ing our conditions, and compared with most European countries, maintaining our pre-war level. Reviewing the financial position Mr Churchill said the period of the Government term of office was chequered. There was the industrial disaster of 1926. but after two; years of quiet, there had been a sensible im provement in the. situation. The sav ings of the smallest class of inves ore | had increased, while the Government ! had been in power, by £l7O 000.000. I The cost of living had declined a T least 18 points.

RETURN TO GOLD STANDARD.

Speaking of the gold standard and ■ the cost of living, Mr Churchill ad mitted that the gold standard earned with it priva.ions as well as re ward and his hope and faith was that the privations were minor and temporary, and the reward would be major and permanent. The producing Indus tries, as well as the. entrepot trade, had derived lasting benefit from the resumption of the gold standard. He referred to the benefit it had conferred on overseas trader which constituted a stepping stone in times of peace, of our economic position. London, in spite of the sacrifices made by Great Britain during the war, had regained its solid international pre-em-inence. We were still the. greatest international market, and w e had been able to maintain money rates lower than those which normally prevailed in New York, while bills of exchange, oa London, which after the war were so seriously menaced, had in the last few years regained th dr time-honoured position as the favourite international instrument and iolren df commerce. There had to be a 'decline in the cost of living as the result of our allegiance to" sound money. This decline of 18 points was an increase in the purchasing power of wages, equivalent to a remission of £160,000,000 a year iu indirect taxation. DEBT.

In regard to debt operations of the present Parliament, the. Chancellor said the nominal deadweight debt of £7 59^,000.,000 (had fallen to £1(,501,000,000. Interest on the debt by the operation of sinking fund had been reduced by £9,500.000 a NEW TAX ON BOOKMAKERS. The Chancellor said that the tax for which he had been responsible was the betting tax. It had been more trouble than it was worth. The- tax on a bookmaker’s turnover would be im mediately repealed. A bookmaker p

future would pay £lO per year for a , certificate, and in addition he would fpay ]i. < use duty of £4O for every telephone installed in his office. One-half per cent, would be levied also on tak ings of the totalisator, which he had been led to believe would be a fair amount. The yield on these levies would be £850,0b0 in the current year, and £900,000 in a full year. He said harbour dues would be reduced. Tils applied only to the her ring industry. The tea duly remission meant a reduction in price to the public of 4d a lb. The benefits of the de rating scheme would be applied to agriculture 4orthwithi, and other industries in October. In view of the criticism that brewers, dis.illers and tobacco manufacturers would benefit from the operation of a measure de signed to assist distressed industries, the increased duties imposed on t e three industries would counterbalance their gains under the derating. FOOLING THE PEOPLE

Mr P. Snowden (Labour), following, Mr Churchill, said the Budget was really an electioneering speech. It was very different from what the House had been led to expect, more shameless piece of election br ery had never been presented by any. political party. The speech was in tile nature of a swan song. Ministerialists thought the would be of advantage to them a elections,, they were underrating intelligence of the eleeto ”- T L. GEORGE’S CRITICISM. Mr Lloyd George said he " rtag complain that it was an e ec i speech: “What I object to - the Mgn moral stSaard Mr Churchill tak anyone else who has an pose in mind.. He J' ds borrowillg two about my suggest.ng imgelf sppn t hundred millions, bl pro vid four hundred millions Without P ing anything like sub tan Dal meat. From the po ll Budget tug with ft grave si.nation,, th- Ku is extremely disappointing. The usual Budget resolutions were agreed., and the House rose.